A lot of noshing, a little knitting, and not too much swearing.

January 04, 2015

I finished the first of the Turkish Bed Socks while watching The Mystery of Edwin Drood. (I am a sucker for British period dramas.) Because I began with such a small skein of yarn I was worried there would not be enough for a second sock, but the scale tells me I will be just fine. The beginning of the bed sock takes some attention, and the mystery of Edwin Drood had not yet been revealed, so I cast on a simple sock to knit while watching.

This is Opal's Ladies & Gentlemen. There used to be a local shop that carried Opal yarn but it closed a few years ago, and I had forgotten how much I like knitting with it. I love the self striping patterns, and Oldest Son loves that he can throw them in the washer. Knowing that these socks will wear well and never need to be darned makes the knitting even more pleasurable. Luckily the yarn is easily available online, and I have already picked out the next two balls I will be knitting. This may turn out to be the Year of Opal.

January 01, 2015

A few years back my buddy Tan taught me that you should spend New Year's Day doing all the things you hope to be doing the following year. So today I will knit, cook, read, write, and have afternoon tea.

I am kinda obsessed with the idea of afternoon tea, a set time everyday to pause. And while I am generally alone at 4:00, that is a transition time, moving from the work of the day, to the work of the evening. At 4:00 I have been awake and working since 6:00, am tired and hungry, and still have to pick up Youngest Son from practice, make and clean up dinner, and then have the nightly homework fight. It is a tough time and Husband may not be home until 7:00, later if I am able to pick him up. Setting aside a little time to have tea and a healthy snack might just keep me from feeling frantic about being pulled in so many directions, and keep me out of the potato chips. I hope it becomes what I have in mind.

December 31, 2014

I finished these socks last weekend. No, I do not remember the yarn, but I do love the tidy stitches, and the subtle shade shifts.

I was anxious to finish this pair so that I could cast on a pair of bedsocks. Youngest Daughter gave me a little skein of handspun, so soft and pretty that I could not wait for it to be in my needles. I chose Turkish Bedsocks from Churchmouse Yarns and am knitting away.

The pattern gives you the choice of sewing up the heel seams as they are made, or after the socks are finished. Sewing seams is my least favorite part of knitting, so I chose to put it off.

December 30, 2014

When I was growing up I thought that both my grandparents were Norwegian. I knew that my grandfather's parents came over on a boat, and because it was all Norway all the time in the house I just assumed that Grandma had a similar lineage. Imagine my surprise when as a grown up I learned that Grandma was French-Canadian. Really!?! She left her home when she was young, and as far as I know never went back. She wound up in Washington state, working at the Hanford nuclear plant, which is where she met my Grandfather.

My grandmother passed away this past summer and it is still very, very hard for me. We have many Scandinavian traditions that we incorporate into our holiday celebrations, but surely there are a few French-Canadian rituals we can add. A quick google search brought up some very interesting folk stories, but the thing that popped up over and over again was the Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log. This is a custom I can get behind.

Of course, my Bûche de Noël needs to be gluten free, and knowing gluten free baking as I do, the whole rolling thing felt very, very shaky. But, I pushed up my sleeves and got to work. I used this recipe* and it worked out just great. The rolling was pretty fiddly, but not impossible. I served the cake on Christmas Eve and knew there would be plenty left as part of our Christmas morning breakfast. This is also when I planned to photograph my pretty log. So where is the photo?

Tom, the kitty, has been known to jump up on the counter at night while the house is sleeping. I know this because he leaves behind tell tale kitty paw prints, and sometimes tufts of hair can be found on my ipad cover. We have learned to never leave food out, not even a loaf of bread because he will rip through the bag and help himself. Right about now you are probably thinking this is going to turn into a story about a bad kitty. Nope. Before husband and I went to bed Christmas Eve, I wrapped the Bûche in plastic wrap and slipped it into the oven to keep it safe. The first thing I did Christmas morning was turn on the oven so that it would be hot and ready to make bacon. Only, I missed a step. The step where I remove the lovely yule log from the oven before turning it on. By the time I smelled it, it was too late. The plastic had melted onto the cake and the whole thing went into the trash.

Even with that tale of woe, I am still glad I took the time to make a Bûche de Noël and it is certainly going to be a tradition from here on out.

November 01, 2014

Madeleines are one of the treats I used to love in the gluten filled days of yore. As my gluten free baking experience has grown, I had it in the back of my mind to give madeleines another try. Then this book arrived at my doorstep.

Madeleines, Elegant French Tea Cakes to Bake and Share by Barbara Feldman Morse. A glance at the basic recipe left me feeling like it was a good candidate for gluten free baking. The flour to egg ratio is good, baking powder is added, and the pans are small, all important for gluten free flours. Then I read in the beginning of the book that the author gives her blessing to swap out regular flour for a gluten free blend without any other adjustments at all. Wow. I was willing to give it a go.

Before running over to the kitchen store for madeleine pans I thought I would try some molds that had come to me from my grandma.

There are only fifteen, not enough for a full batch, but I was excited to give these sweet little tins a chance to shine.

OMG people! This is the best cake I have eaten since gluten. If the gluten free version is this good than the wheat filled version will probably cause you to sit down while eating because your knees are gonna buckle. Youngest Son came home from school and poked at one,

"What is it?"

"A little cake."

"What is in it?" Can you tell I have a picky eater on my hands?

"Regular cake stuff, nothing strange." He took a bite, and another, and then asked if we could have these all the time. Win!

With that success under my belt I was ready to try more. After a trip to the kitchen store for pans, I whipped up a batch of pumpkin madeleines. Just as light and airy as the original, the perfect thing for tea, or coffee, or dessert, or after school snacking.

This book has recipes for madeleines of every flavor you can think of.

Fruits,

chocolate,

even savory varieties stuffed with cheese and herbs. And I know that Santa is going to love having a few Eggnog Madeleines on his cookie plate.

I contacted the author through her Facebook page and asked if I could share a recipe from the book, she was very kind and said I could share whichever I liked. It is fall, and we all have pumpkin on the brain, so here is the recipe for Pumpkin Spice Madeleines. I used the GF flour blend from America's Test Kitchen and whipped the pumpkin and egg mixture for a few minutes to get it nice and fluffy. Please give them a try and let me know what you think.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350F. Coast 12-shell pans with baking spray, or melt 4 tablespoons of butter and brush into each mold.***

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. (note that you can substitute 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.)

Place butter and brown sugar in a 2-quart microwaveable glass bowl or measuring cup. Microwave on low power for 1 to 2 minutes and then stir mixture with a whisk until smooth. If butter is not melted, microwave for 15-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth.

Let mixture cool for about 4 to 4 minutes and then add eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition until completely blended. Whisk in pumpkin until thoroughly blended.

Stir in flour mixture until incorporated, the batter should be smooth. Add walnuts or chocolate chips, if using (this will yield 2 or 3 more madeleines).

Using 1 1/2-inch-diameter scoop or a teaspoon, fill shell molds with batter until almost full, gently press batter to a distribute it evenly.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until madeleines puff up and spring back when lightly pressed.

Remove pan from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 2 to 3 minutes, then invert and tap madeleines onto the rack, you may also use a small offset spatula to remove each one individually.

***I used MUCH less than 4 tablespoons of butter, closer to 1 tablespoon.

October 20, 2014

Sunday Suppers: Recipes + Gatherings by Karen Mordechai is not at all what I was expecting. With a title of Sunday Suppers I envisioned menus and recipes for big family gatherings, the kind of thing I fantasize about having with my own family. The book includes some of that, and much more.

Broken up by time of day, it is not just a book of suppers, Morning, Noon, Afterrnoon, Evening, with each section including four or fives menus and recipes. The dishes are meant to be prepared for friends and shared. The act of sitting down to share a meal the main event.

There are a lot of ides for packing up your meal and heading outdoors. The photography is gorgeous and includes plenty of pretty landscapes and unusual settings to get your imagination running.

The recipes are simple, and lean vegetarian. It would be easy to make a satisfying meal for both veggies and carnivores using the planned menus.

The audience I see for this book is young, highly social, and outdoorsy. I gave this book to Youngest Daughter and she called to tell me how inspired she felt. The book excited her, and even has her ready to tackle homemade bread! I am certain that she is going to use these menus and recipes to plan many a gathering.

Sunday Suppers began as a website and you can find many delicious recipes there. Figs are almost done for the year, so scoop up a basket and make Fig Tart with Honey. Talk about delicious!

October 13, 2014

The very last thing I need is another pair of handknit socks, but when I saw this pattern I could not stop myself.

This design is from Irish Girlie Knits. I have knit her patterns in the past and always found them enjoyable. You can read about Carrie here, and until october 17th, you can receive 20% off any pattern $6.00 or less through her Ravelry page.

October 09, 2014

A few months back I was lamenting to Husband about the lack of Scandinavian cookbooks, at least those available to us English speakers. It seems like a title comes out every few years but does not stay in print for long. A couple of good ones you can find now are Kitchen of Light by Andreas Viestade, and Scandinavian Christmas by Trine Hahnemann. If you move away from Scandinavia proper, and include the larger Nordic region, you still do not get much in the way of time honored cookbooks, but there is a brand new one that is a stunner. North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland by Gunnar Karl Gíslason and Jody Eddy.

Oh my. This is one of the most beautiful cookbooks you will ever find. The photography of the food, people, and landscapes are breathtaking. The recipes are surprising.

Many of the recipes and techniques fall under the category of "fine dining", using a multitude of ingredients and steps. But there are others that even a beginning cook could handle. The most surprising addition to many of the dishes are powders. Powders of all sort, dill, rye bread, seaweed, rhubarb...the list goes on and on. Getting cozy with these powders will open up a ton of flavors in the food you cook everyday. My one regret about this book is that there is not a "powder" listing in the index. To find them all you need to look at the recipe listings for each section.

The book is also surprising in the way it is broken up. Not by seasons, or courses, but by providers. A story about the local person who provides cod is followed by cod recipes and dishes that are special to the place where the cod is caught. Same goes for the mushroom forager, dairy farmer, sheep farmer, and salt maker. It is really a very cool idea.

Not every ingredient used in this book will be readily available where you live. Substitutions are given and Gunner says, "Cook until it tastes good and use what you have." A fine way to work in the kitchen.

This is a huge book that I expect will keep me reading and cooking for months to come.

Rhubarb is still growing in my garden, probably yours too, so I am going to leave you with a simple recipe and story from the book.

Rhubarb and Herb Sugar

serves 4 preparation time 20 minutes

When Gunnar was a child and rhubarb was in season, his mother would give him and his brother and sister each a small bowl of sugar. They would then spend the morning wandering through the fields plucking rhubarb stalks to dip into their sugar bowls. This recipe is a twist on that memory, with the addition of lemon balm and tarragon to give the sugar and electric green color and an herbaceous hit. For a grown-up version, pair it with chilled aquavit. Indeed, on a summer's day in Iceland, there's nothing better than joining friends at an outdoor table in the sunshine, with a bowl of freshly cut rhubarb in the center, small bowls of herb sugar around it, and shot glasses filled with chilled aquavit. Skál!

Herb Sugar

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh lemon balm leaves

2 tablespoons loosely packed tarragon leaves

1 cup sugar

4 rhubarb stalks trimmed

To make the herb sugar, rinse the lemon balm and tarragon under ice-cold running water for 30 seconds and pat dry with paper towels, in a food processor, combine the sugar and herbs and process for about 4 minutes, until the mixture is evenly green.

To serve, set out each rhubarb stalk with a small bowl of herb sugar for dipping.

Doesn't it make you want to jump on a plane?

**This book was provided to me by the publisher. No money changed hands and my opinions are my own.**

Oh how I love Nigel Slater's books. Ripe, Tender, and Notes From The Larder are go to books when I am stumped about what to make for dinner. As a new cook I would not have liked his recipes, they are light on instructions and assume that the reader is comfortable in the kitchen. For instance, when I was first learning to cook, an instrutction that read, "brown on all sides" would have been a step that left me wondering the hell that meant. But once you have your feet solidly under you in the kitchen, Mr. slater's dishes provide you with concrete ideas, and tons of inspiration.

Having Mr. Slater's books in the kitchen is like having a best friend that cooks like a bad-ass and loves having you try new things. His newest book, Eat - the little book of fast food, is just the thing when a meal needs to be prepared, and time is short. If you picked up a few things at the market over the weekend, farmers or otherwise, you will find ideas to combine them with pantry staples to create a quick, delicious, fresh meal.

The format is a little different than most cookbooks. Each recipe starts with a small photo of the finished dish and a general ingredients list, no quantities. The quantities are provided in the instructions, and the instructions are brief. Many recipes include ideas for changing up ingredients and flavors. Each recipe ends with a note about how many it is intended to serve (usually 2 or 4), and a few choice words describing the dish.

The first thing you encounter in the book is a "quick guide by main ingredient". Here you will be able to easily find a recipe using whatever you happen to have in your kitchen. From there the book is broken up by preparation and serving methods: In the hand, In a bowl, In the frying pan, On the grill, On the stove, Little stews, In the oven, Under a crust, In a wok, On a plate, and Desserts.

As always, the photography is beautiful, and the writing is a treat to read. I have no doubt that a great deal of care and affection goes into each of his books, it makes the experience of reading and cooking feel shared. I can feel him looking over my shoulder into the pot and cheering me on.

Below is a good example of how the recipes are set up, and what to expect from the instructions.

Split open 1 1/2 pounds (750g) plump, tasty, fresh sausages, peel off their casing, and put sausage meat into a bowl. Rub a little olive oil on the bottom of a small baking dish. Add sheets of dried, oven-ready lasagne, broken into pieces to make them fir roughly into the dish. Coarsely chop 12 ounces (350g) cherry tomatoes and distribute half of them over the lasagne. Cover with half of the sausage meat and then another layer of lasagne. Add the remaining half of the tomatoes, then another layer of lasagne and the last of the sausage meat. Slice 2 large tomatoes and put them on top.

Stir a tablespoon of Dijon mustard into 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream, season lightly, then pour over the top. Cover with grated Parmesean. Bake in an oven set at 400F (200C) for 45 minutes.

For 4. Rich, luscious, and filling. A dish to keep out the cold.

The facing page includes instructions to change up the recipe using leftover chicken and some onions. A book full of recipes to get dinner on the table quickly and without too much fuss. For those times when you just want to eat.

**This book was provided to me by the publisher. No money changed hands and my opinions are my own.**

October 07, 2014

I picked up a used copy of The Los Angeles Times California Cookbook, published in 1990. This book has some flaws, like the dismal photographs, and some real treasures, like an amazing variety of salad dressings, and very nice line drawings. There are recipes for abalone, which I grew up eating but is now on the endangered species list, and shark, the oh so tasty thresher shark I used to use to make fish tacos is also on that list.

The title says California Cookbook, but it is really Southern California focused. The sections that cover soups and salads are much larger than the ones that cover meat, in keeping with the way most southern californians eat. There is a chapter of preserves, but the techniques listed are not even close to safe by today's standards. As you might imagine, my favorite section is the last one and it covers cocktails. Cocktails with names like Scorpion, Pink Palace, and Sundowner. Cocktails I can not imagine ever actually drinking, but love knowing that I could. There is even a recipe for homemade Galliano which I am definitely going to make.

I am looking forward to trying a good number of the salad dressing recipes, and imagine at least a couple will make it into the permanent file. For just a few dollars it has provided a fun trip down memory lane.